proverb · Words worth keeping
One does not cross a river without getting wet.
One does not cross a river without getting wet.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes getting wet part of crossing a river. As a metaphor, it connects undertaking a change with encountering some consequence or inconvenience.
What the words are saying
Without makes the cost seem inseparable from the crossing. A qualified application can ask what a planned undertaking may demand, while refusing to promise that every sacrifice is worthwhile. The phrase is not a river-crossing method or proof that risk must be accepted.
Everyday example
Someone weighs the time a new project will require before deciding whether to begin it.
When to use it
Use it to discuss an undertaking’s actual costs rather than promise a reward.
What it does not mean
No water-safety guidance or guaranteed benefit from sacrifice is implied.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 63; PDF page 13
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.